Acquisition extends property division footprint

BEG’s latest acquisition, Banks Long & Co, adds to its property division’s profile, enhancing its existing presence in Eastern England and South Yorkshire.  Banks Long & Co is a Lincoln based chartered surveyor with 38 employees, which operates across Lincolnshire and Humberside. It provides commercial property agency, property management, building consultancy and valuation services to a regional public and private sector client base.

BEG has agreed to pay maximum consideration of £3m on a cash/debt free basis: £1.5m upfront (£1.125m cash, 0.292m shares) and the balance subject to aggregate £5.0m PTP generated during the five-year period post completion. The cash will be met from existing financial resources with significant headroom still available to finance further investments.

The acquisition is expected by BEG to be immediately earnings enhancing, and fits with the Group strategy to build the scale and quality of its business organically and via value-accretive acquisitions.

We hold our forecasts until BEG’s full year trading update, expected later this month, and also maintain our 175p / share fair value.